Slicing mechanism



Dec. 11, 1934. Rl HOE 1,983,666

SLICING MECHANISM Filed oct. V3, 1930 y 5 Sheets-sheet l INVENTR K y.AT-ron Ys'. y

Dec. 11, 1934. i R. HOE 1,983,666

SLICING MECHNISM Filed Oct. 3, 1950v 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR ATTORN YS.. v

ia Y

ways move towards the bottom as its diameter decreases. Conversely, the article will move upwardly away from the bottom as its diameter increases, and in all cases the axis of the article will be substantially normal to the plate 21, so that the slices which are removed will be of substantially uniform thickness; that is, the thickness of each slice will be substantially uniform throughout and will be substantially the same as the thickness of every other slice removed by the same cutter.

'Ihe plate is shown as rotating in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 2, or in a clockwise direction as viewed in that figure.

In advance of the support is disposed 29, the contour of which is best shown in Fig. 4. This guide is in the form of a ridge or lug extending inwardly from the part 16 of the casing and presenting an inclined surface 30 towards the cutter.

The knife of the cutter may be formed of thin steel which has more or less resilience and may extend outwardly from the plate a greater distance than is necessary to give the required thickness of the slice. If this occurs, the knife will engage the cam surface 30, and by the time the knife has reached the point 3l, it will be in engagement With the edge 25 of the support and will remain in engagement therewith until the slice has been completely removed and until the knife has reached some such position as shown in Fig. 2. By this arrangement, absolute uniformity of slicing is provided.

While the plate is shown as mounted substantially concentric with the shaft 11, it may be desirable to mount the plateA so that its center is between the knife and the center of the shaft. By this arrangement, a greater lineal speed of the knife is obtained.

In Fig. 2, I have indicated at 32 in dot and dash lines the outline of an article to be sliced, and, as pointed out above, with the hopper-shaped bottom of the support, the article will be always held with its length substantially normal to a stop formed by the plate 21.

I preferably provide a pusher comprising a body 33 (Figs. 5 and 6) and a handle 34. Between the body and the handle may be provided a flange 35, and, if desired, this flange may be so placed as to engage an outer edge 36 of the support when the inner end 37 of the pusher has reached the edge 25 of the support so as to avoid cutting of the pusher by the knife. The body of the pusher conforms generally to the shape of a support; as will be perceived from thel drawings.

To avoid accidental outward movement of the cutter, I provide on the inner fact of the part 16 a projection 38 in line With the shaft 11 and normally engaging the same during operation of the mechanism. This positively prevents movement of the shaft and the cutter secured thereto,

i and thus aids in fixing the thickness of the slices removed from the article in the support. the thin knife 23, it is, of course, conceivable that an outward movement of the shaft might otherl Wise take place, the knife being bent inwardly as before, although such fastening means have been omitted. The similar parts have been given With similar numerals, and their detailed description need not be repeated.

In this form, the shaft 11 is used to support a grater comprising a frame 39 supporting a plate 40 which may be spot welded to the support or secured thereto in any other suitable manner. This plate has on its surface a series of protuberances 41 which, as they pass the edge 25 of the support 24, will serve to grate the food in the support 24. The gratings will drop through the bottom-27 of the casing 4. A

From the above, it Will be seen that I have provided slicing mechanism which may be cheaply 4.and efficiently made and easily operated. a guide It is obvious that the part 16 may be first removed'and the shaft 11 moved out of engagement with the shaft 4 4before removing the part 15. This will be the normal operation with the kind of shaft connection shown herein, although it is, of course, within the scope of my invention to mount the shaft 11 in bearings in the casing part 15, and to use a different type of clutch connection between the two shafts. In that case, the casing could be swung outwardly on its hinges and the entire mechanism removed as a unit after the clutch is disengaged The form shown, however, has certain advantages, particularly in connection with cleaning the device. As pointed out above, the front part 16 of the casing may be easily removed, and then the shaft 11 with its associated tool, exemplified by the plate 21 or 40 may be removed, it being noted that the shaft 11 passes through a hole in the back of the casing, which is of sufficient size to permit ready movement therethrough of the shaft and its clutch element 13. This arrangement makes a minimum of labor, because it is not even necessary to remove the part 15 of the casing if the device is to be further used.

While I have shown the invention as embodied in certain illustrated forms, it is to be understood that various changes -in details may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, and I therefore do not intend to limit myself except by the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In combination, a power unit comprising a driving shaft having a bore in the end thereof, a casing detachably mounted on said power unit and having an opening in the rear wall thereof in alignment with said driving shaft, a device operating Within said casing and having a driven shaft extending through said opening into said bore, cooperating clutch elements on said driving and driven shafts, and a front wall on said casing engaging the end of said driven shaft to prevent its movement out of said bore.

2. In combination, a power unit comprising a driving shaft having a bore in the end thereof, a casing detachably mounted on said povver unit and having an opening in the rear wall thereof in alignment VWith said driving shaft, a device operating within said casing and having a driven shaft extending through said opening into said bore, cooperating clutch elements on said driving and driven shafts, a front wall on said casing engaging the end of said driven shaft to prevent its movement out of said bore, and means detachably holding said front Wall in position on the casing, whereby upon removal thereof said device may be removed from the casing and said shaft may be moved through said opening.

ROBERT HOE. 

